Devotees witness Suna Besha braving rain

Puri (Odisha), July 13: There was unprecedented rush of devotees to this holy city on Sunday to witness the famous Suna Besha of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

Braving heavy rains, lakhs of pilgrims walked down most part of the Bada Danda in a queue to witness the Suna Besha of the deities. This was the most decorative Besha of the deities outside the sanctum sanctorum of the Sri Jagannath temple.

At 5.30 in the afternoon, the servitors brought huge gold ornaments and jewels from the temple treasury to the chariots. Three special sets of servitors (temple dressers) began dressing the deities simultaneously. It took one hour to complete the task.

Gold ornaments of various type and style weighing about 100 kg were used to decorate the deities in complete gold. The ornaments include giant limbs, insignias and weapons like mace, lotus, wheel, conch and huge tiaras besides a number of special necklaces and garlands.

The deities too put on big Kundalas in their ears besides chest guards all made of gold. The darshan of this special Besha continued till late in the night.

The inventory of the ornaments in daily use of the deities was conducted in 1978. It reflects that temple treasury was having 367 items of gold ornaments weighing four quintals of gold and two 250 items of silver ornaments weighing 14 quintals.

Apart from these, there were precious ornaments studded with diamond, emerald, ruby and other precious stones of rare quality and size. Those managing the temple affairs said the administration had opened only one of the seven vaults of the temple treasury.

A two-layer armed security cordon was made around the three chariots while armed policemen manned the nearby rooftops. Security cameras were pressed into service to scan the crowd. Special traffic arrangement was also enforced during the day. The vehicular traffic, including two wheelers, was barred from entering the Badadanda.

The deities after offering of Adhar Pana on Monday would enter into the main temple on Wednesday night.